Automotive columnist for Edmunds and formerly for the LA Times, regular contributor to Rodder's Journal, former exec. director of the Peterson Museum

"Few writers in the realm of automotive literature can match Ken Gross's way with words," described the award's chief judge, David Hess of Springfield, Virginia.

"His encyclopedic grasp of automotive science, design and technology shines through his columns in ways that even lay readers can understand. He combines this knowledge with a fluent command of language that stokes the senses in one's mind, to the point of hearing thrumming cylinders and sniffing the tangy odor of hot engine oil."

Gross is a freelance writer whose column "Road Warrior" has appeared on Inside Line since the site's launch in January 2005.